The Importance of Organization Skills and Follow Up

Claim Scenario: An agent wrote an automobile and a homeowners policy for her customer. Later in the year, the customer’s son contacted the agent to inform the agent that his father had recently passed away. The agent canceled the automobile policy and told the son he would advise the homeowners carrier to non-renew the homeowners policy. After hanging up the phone, the agent left a note to his employee instructing him to notify the underlying carrier to set the homeowners policy for non-renewal. The note became buried in the employee’s inbox and forgotten. The homeowners policy renewed later in the year. Following the policy renewal, a fire causes the home to be completely destroyed. The carrier issued payment for the loss and sought reimbursement from the agent’s E&O insurance for failing to follow their agency guidelines for proper notification when a named insured dies. Estimated Cost: $243,000

E&O Prevention Tip: Organization skills and follow-up are important. Consider using a project management software system to help log tasks and identify pending items. Develop a set of guidelines to determine project priorities so staff members can better manage their time and know how to prioritize objectives. Use follow-up reminders in an online calendar for items with important deadlines. Set regular meetings, conference calls, or reports to share status updates. Take time to train employees acting on your behalf. Remember, you could be held responsible for an employee’s actions.

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While you might think of insurance agency marketing as a way to send out your best face to the world and promote your agency, keeping your existing clients happy is actually the best way to maintain and grow your client base.